Method of heating liquids.



No. 629,520. Patented July 25, I899.

n. L. mom).

METHOD OF HEATING LIQUIDS.

I (Application filed Dec. 10, 1898.)

(No Model.)

DU UUDUDUDUU 7nuentor UNITED STATES ROBERT LUDlVIG MOND,

PATENT, OFFI E,

OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

METHOD oF HEATING LIQUIDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 629,520, dated July 25, 1899.

Application filed December 10, 1898.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT LUDWIG Mom),

a citizen of England, residing at No. 20 Avenue road, Regents Park, London, England,

have invented a certain new and useful Improved Method of Heating Liquids, (for which I have applied for patents in Austria, dated September 28, 1898, No. 48/4,793; in France, dated July 5, 1898, No. 279,511; in Germany, dated June 10, 1898; in Great Britain, dated May 14, 1898, No. 11,062; in Hungary, dated June 23, 1898, and in Russia, dated June 15,

1898,) of which the following is a specification.

manner by passing through the liquid to beheated finely-divided molten metal or alloy which has been heated by direct action of flame and hot combustion-gases upon the metal or alloy.

111 the accompanying drawing the figure is a vertical sectional view of an apparatus suitable for practicing my improved method or process.

In carrying out my invention I select a metal or alloy which has a melting-point below the temperature to which the liquid has to be heated and a boiling-point considerably higher than the temperature to which this metal or alloy has to be heated, so that after passing through the heated liquid the metal or alloy still remains in a liquid condition.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that above a combustion-chamber Lt bricks b or other refractory bodies are built up with interstices between them, as in the chamber of a regenerative furnace, and above these there is a shallow trough c, with a number of nozzles and deflectors d. A boiler c has in its upper part a similar trough 00 and Serial No. 698,889. (No speoimensz) ceiving-dish i. From the bottom of the boilere a pipe It leads to a receiving-dish j at the upper part of the structure containing the bricks b. In the course of the pipe is in certain cases a pumpZ may be arranged. The apparatus operates as follows: The comb ustionchamber a being supplied with combustible gaseous mixture which is ignited, the flame and products of combustion ascend through the interstices of the bricks b, heating them to a high temperature, and escape by openings m, which may lead to a chimney. Mol ten metal or alloy is forced by the pressure in the boiler e, aided, if necessary, by pump 1, up the pipe 70, where it. is discharged into the dish j. It flows into the trayc and through the nozzles at its bottom-in streams that are broken up by the deflectors (1 into drops which descend through the interstices of the bricks b, becoming highly heated, these drops collecting at the bottom of the combustion-chamber a. Thence the heated molten metal is pumped into the boiler c, where it descends in drops through the liquid to the bottom, whence it again ascends by the pipe 7c to be again heated, and so on continuously. .The

pump Z is necessary in starting the apparatus when there is not sufficient pressure in the boiler. I

WVhen the heated liquid is under pressure,as in the case of asteam-boiler, the molten metal or alloy is forced or admitted by automatic feeders or other suitable appliances into the boiler, and after passing through the water it is discharged at the bottom under pressure, so that it rises or can be raised by pumping or otherwise to the heating-chamber to be heated again and to be again forced or admitted into the boiler. As such a boiler is not heated from the outside, the walls of it can be made of any desired thickness, and steam of very high pressure can be obtained with perfect safety and very economically.

In cases where the heated liquid is in open vessels-as, for instance, when it is to be concentrated by evaporation the heated molten metal or alloy descends through the liquid by gravity, and after being discharged at the bottom of the vessel it is raised by pumping or otherwise, sov as to be again heated and to pass again through the liquid.

The metal or alloy selected for heating liquids, as above described, must be such that it has a boiling-point above the temperature to which it is heated and that it does not chemically act or is not acted on by the liquid through which it is passed.

As it is necessaay to maintain the metal or 'alloy in a fluid conditiqn, the heating-chains her and the liquid to be acted on and the vessel containing it are preferably heated in the first place by any convenient means to a temperature somewhat above the fusing-point of the metal or alloy, which must itself be melted -in the first instance.

For heating the fused metal or alloy it should bedistributed as completely as possible over thematerial in theheating chamber,

and in apply-ingit to heat liquidit should also *be. thoroughly distributed, so'as to pass in numerous small streams or drops through the liquid.

The'apparatus illustrated by the accompanyingdrawing-is only typical of .manythat could be employed in carrying my invention into effect, and therefore I do notwish to be understood as confining myself to any particular apparatus. b

It has heretofore been proposed to vaporize liquids and heat air by placing a bathof metal or alloy in a vessel heated by a fire and forcing water or air through aperforated pipe into thelower part of the fused metalor alloy; but such method does not constitute my invention and is not claimed by me. According to my invention the metal already melted is heated with exposure of great surface in direct contact with hot gases from a furnace and the heated metal in finely-divided streams or drops descends through the water or liquid to be heated, after which the metal is carried back, reheated, and again forced in finely-' divided streams or drops through the Water or liquid.

Having thus described the nature of this invention and the best means I know of carry ing the same into practical efiectfl claim-' 1. The method herein described of heating liquids, which consists in reducing metal or alloy to a moltenmass, heating the melted metal, forcing the same in finely-divided condition through the liquid to be heated, removing the melted metal fromthe liquid and Teheating the metal for subsequent passage HGSSGS.

, ROBERT LUDWIG MOND. Witnesses:

CHAS. ROCHE, B. PHILLIPS. 

